This invention relates generally to shelving apparatus and relates more particularly to shelf-defining racks within which magnetic tape cartridges are stored.
Conventional racks with which this invention is concerned include shelves for accepting and storing magnetic tape cartridges placed upright and edgewise thereupon so that the stored cartridges are arranged in a plurality of rows and the cartridges in each row are arranged in side-by-side relationship. Typically, an exposed edge of each cartridge bears a label for purposes of identifying the cartridge.
When embodied in the form of a floor-standing model, the conventional rack commonly includes a plurality of lowermost shelves arranged in a superposed relationship spaced relatively close to the floor so that a person searching for a cartridge positioned upon one of these lowermost shelves must often bend or stoop from a standing position in order to read the labels borne by the cartridges positioned upon these shelves. Such bending is almost always required if the person searching for the cartridge must stand relatively close to the rack such as is the case if there exists only a relatively narrow walkway or aisle extending along the front of the rack. It is known, however, that such a rack can be constructed so that the labels borne by cartridges in the lowermost shelves are viewable by a person standing alongside the rack so that the person need not stoop to remove a cartridge until the desired cartridge is spotted. In such a construction, the lowermost shelves are oriented in a canted relationship so that the label-bearing edges of the cartridges positioned thereupon are contained generally in a single plane oriented at an angle relative to the vertical to thereby expose the cartridge labels to a person standing alongside the racks.
Commonly, a rack of the aforedescribed construction has a base which must be sufficiently wide enough, as the rack is measured from front to back, to accommodate the aforedescribed canting of the lowermost shelves. Accordingly, the base of the rack protrudes forwardly of the remainder of the rack to accommodate the aforedescribed canting. However, the floor space requirements for such a rack may render such a rack undesirable, particularly in rooms in which floor space for cartridge storage is costly due to air-conditioning, security, and fire-prevention requirements.
In addition to the amount of floor space commonly required by conventional racks, another limitation associated with conventional racks relates to the general difficulty of removing individual tape cartridges from the rack. For example, a cartridge may be framed so closely between two adjacent cartridges and beneath an overhanging shelf that the edges or opposite sides of the cartridge are difficult to grasp for purposes of removing of the cartridge. Furthermore, in some instances, the grasping of a cartridge for removal purposes is a cumbersome two-handed operation.
It is known that each shelf of such a conventional rack can be separated by appropriate dividers into spaced cartridge-receiving receptacle slots to facilitate the grasping of opposite sides of the cartridge, but such dividers can significantly reduce the amount of cartridge storage space available along the length of the shelf. It is also known that any of various types of spring mechanisms can be mounted at the back of a shelf and behind each cartridge is depressed against the spring mechanism and suddenly released to a condition relative to adjacent cartridges at which the opposite sides of the cartridge can be grasped. However, such spring mechanisms can significantly contribute to cost of a rack.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved storage rack for magnetic tape cartridges which when constructed in the form of floor-standing rack requires less floor space than does a conventional floor-standing rack yet is adapted to support cartridges in such a manner that identification labels borne by an edge of each cartridge stored thereon are easily viewable by a person standing alongside the rack.
Another object of the present invention to provide such a storage rack in which cartridges can be stored in a compact, space-conserving arrangement and from which individual tape cartridges can be easily removed with one hand.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a storage rack having shelves wherein the density for cartridge storage is effectively maximized along the length of the shelves.
Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide such a storage rack having superposed shelves wherein the vertical density for cartridge storage is enhanced.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a storage rack which is economical to construct and effective in operation.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a storage rack having shelves which strongly resist a forward shifting of cartridges positioned thereupon due to an accidental jarring or a shaking of the rack to thereby enhance the storage security of cartridges positioned upon the rack shelves.
A yet still further object of the present invention is to provide such a storage rack which is particularly well-suited for storing magnetic tape cartridges of the type, or comparable to the type, manufactured by IBM and known as the 3480 magnetic tape cartridge.